1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a child""s wooden playset construction, and more particularly to a playset tower arrangement having construction features that make it easy to assemble and safe for young children to use.
2. Prior Art
The childrens"" playsets and swing equipment are elements of construction where attention to detail, for safety reasons, is vitally important. This is so, because the users of this equipment, children, don""t necessarily know how to play around these things properly, and unsafe design and construction may mean an injured child. Such children may run, climb and jump from such a construction without regard to safety, or where they may place their hands or fingers, or where their may fall when doing so. Such places of dangers may be found between the horizontal wall supports and the vertical corner posts, unless those supports and posts are secured together properly using angled or mitered cuts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,875 to Ziegler, Jr. et al. shows a wood play tower kit with structures or wall supports with a straight cuts thereon. Such straight end cuts leave openings at the vertical corner posts and the associated brackets, for little fingers to go into.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved play assembly over that shown in the prior art.
It is yet a further object of the present invention, to provide a kit which is readily assemblyable, while providing the required safety considerations for those who will use this assembled construction.
It is yet a still further object of the present invention, to provide a wooden play assembly, having brackets which facilitate the construction and accommodate the safety concerns necessarily required for the children who will use such an apparatus.
It is still yet a further object of the present invention, to provide a play tower assembly which utilizes brackets which are less complicated than those found in the prior art those making assembly less complicated and less expensive while making such assembly safer for the end user.
The present invention comprises a child""s playset tower construction assembly or kit for making such playset tower assembly or gazebo. The playset tower assembly comprises six corner posts arranged in a hexagonal pattern to define the outer perimeter of the playset tower assembly. An elongated side support board is arranged between adjacent corner posts, at ground level. Each side support is pre-mitered at a 30 degree angle, at each end thereof, so the end face of each side support board is flush with the corresponding side of its contiguous corner post.
An intermediate side support board is arranged between adjacent corner posts, the intermediate side support boards having mitered ends cut at an angle of 30 degrees, so as to have their end portions flush with the respective side walls of the vertical posts, with no gaps or spaces therebetween. The lower side support boards and the intermediate side support boards are attached to the respective corner posts, by an angle brace or bracket.
Each bracket is designed so as to be flush with the respective surface to which it attaches, so as not to leave any openings where a child might get hurt. Each bracket comprises an elongated plate having a first end and a second end and an intermediate portion. The first end and the second ends are bent at an angle of 30 degrees with respect to the plane of the intermediate portion. An upper support beam is arranged at an upper location between adjacent corner posts, each upper support board having mitered cuts at their respective ends, so as to present a flat face against its respective mating surface of the corner support post to which it is attached. The upper support boards are attached to the corner posts by an angled bracket, in a manner similar to that of the aforementioned lower side support boards.
An uppermost side support board or rail is attached to the uppermost portions of the corner posts each uppermost support rail having a 30 degree mitered end thereon, so as to provide a flush pre-cut mitered surface to mate flat with the uppermost end of the corner post. An uppermost brace or bracket is arranged at the uppermost end of each corner post, to secure the mitered ends of the uppermost wall supports or rails to that respective corner post.
By virtue of having the side support boards or rails pre-cut or mitered by the manufacturer of this kit, permits this playset tower construction in which children climb, to be assembled much faster and in a safer manner for the children for whom it is intended than that shown in the tower playset prior art. The unique combination of the angled braces or brackets attaching this child""s playset tower in a safe configuration avoiding openings for places where little childrens"" fingers or items of clothing or hair could be caught resulting in injury to that child.
The top angled brace or bracket as an intermediate portion with an outwardly directed pocket thereon. A curved tent pole which extends to arc of about 90 degrees, has a lowermost end which mates within that pocket of the top angled brace. A curved tent pole is placed in each pocket at each top brace at each upper end of the respective corner posts. Each curved tent pole has an uppermost end which is attachable to a tent top plate. The curved tent poles, once attached to one another through the tent top plate comprise the ribs for a hexagon canvas tent to be placed thereover.
A plurality of floor slats are arranged across the intermediate side supports, and a plurality of side wall members are secured between the intermediate wall supports and the upper wall supports. The child""s play area is entered through a wall opening between adjacent corner posts above the intermediate side support boards or beams. A ladder is typically used to gain entry through that side opening therein.
Thus, what has been shown is a unique play set tower assembly, which comes in disassembled kit form, having a unique composition of components to minimize injury to children and to facilitate ease of construction of a playset tower assembly in a xe2x80x9cmultiple child-heightxe2x80x9d tower.
The invention thus comprises a playset tower assembly for young children to climb upon and in, while minimizing potential areas of injury and maximizing structural stability, comprising: an array of six corner posts having an upper and a lower end, and front and side facing surfaces; an arrangement of lower, intermediate and upper side beams, each of the beams having ends with mitered surfaces thereon to flushly engage their respective side facing surfaces of the six corner posts; and an arrangement of angled brackets for securing the beams to the six corner posts, the brackets angled to minimize any spaced between the beams and the corner posts. The side beams are mitered at an angle of thirty degrees to as to provide a flush mating surface between the side beams and the side facing surfaces of the six corner posts. The side brackets have side portions and an intermediate portion which are formed at an angle of thirty degrees with respect to one another. The tower assemble includes an uppermost beam arranged between the uppermost ends of the six corner posts and attached thereto by a top bracket, the top bracket having an enlarged receiving pocket thereon, for securement of a top arrangement to the assembly. The top arrangement includes a plurality of curved tent poles. The curved tent poles have a lower end which mate with the receiving pockets in the side brackets. The curved tent poles have an upper end which attaches with a tent plate for stability of the poles. A tent may be arranged over the tent poles, to provide a safe enclosure for young children playing within the tower assembly. The beams, six corner posts, brackets, curved poles and tent are preferably a kit for assembly by a purchaser thereof. The assembly comprises a structure of between 4 and 8 feet in height. The invention also includes a method of constructing a playset tower assembly for the safe use of young children, comprising the steps of: arranging a vertical array of six corner posts in a hexagonal pattern, the posts having an upper and a lower end, and front and side facing surfaces; providing an arrangement of lower, intermediate and upper side beams between adjacent corner posts, each of the beams having ends with mitered surfaces thereon to flushly engage their respective side facing surfaces of the six corner posts; and securing an arrangement of angled brackets to the beams and to the six corner posts, the brackets angled to minimize any spaced between the beams and the corner posts for safety of any children playing within the tower assembly. The method includes the steps of: pre-mitering the beams at an angle of thirty degrees to as to provide a flush mating surface between the side beams and the side facing surfaces of the six corner posts; arranging a plurality of curved tent poles on the upper end of the corner posts; mating a lower end of the curved tent in a receiving pocket in the side brackets on the upper end of the corner posts; securing an upper end of the tent poles to a tent plate for stability of the poles; placing a tent arranged over the tent poles, to provide a safe enclosure for young children playing within the tower assembly.